In effect, there are two types of small businesses today; those with a website and those without a website. In today’s technologically progressive world, even the simplest of definitions and meanings have changed. One of the important criteria for success of businesses today is how active they are online.

If you are a small business owner belonging to the latter category mentioned above, chances are that at one point or another you have considered having a website. While there may be limitations to self designing of small business websites for many businesses due to lack of expertise, it may also seem difficult to many small businesses to pool resources in order to outsource web designing and development. However, before discarding the idea of having small business websites, you should consider the following questions:

Why Do I Need a Small Business Website?A very simple and often stated reason is you should opt for it to make your presence felt in the online world, as simply getting listed in local search isn’t enough. But what benefit does it give you, really? For one, you can get an edge over other small businesses with no website. Not only that but you can draw additional business through your website. If you want to tap the international market, having a website is an initial step towards it.

How Can Having a Website Help You as a Small Local Business?It is common practice that people search online to make informed decisions about making a purchase before they actually buy the product or service offline. But even when they buy offline, they search for available businesses near them. This searching has long shifted from Yellow Pages to online search engines, so chances are you have already shifted your focus and your advertising budget to local search listings and internet marketing or search engine optimization. In this case, you will surely appear in relevant search results. Suppose you manage to appear at the top of a search by a potential customer, who clicks your name for further information, but doesn’t find a proper website. What happens in such a case? The searcher simply switches to the next available option! Having at least basic small business websites reduces this likelihood.

Carefully weigh the pros and cons of getting a website for your business and do a cost-benefit analysis. Chances are you will be convinced having one is the right decision and investment!

We’d love to hear from you in our comments about what you find important in a website for a small business. Or feel free to contact our Cary website design firm with any questions or feedback.